The present invention relates to battery testing devices. The present invention is particularly applicable to a technique for measuring conductance of a battery in which a small resistive load is momentarily placed across the battery and the change in voltage is monitored.
Chemical storage batteries, such as lead acid batteries used in automobiles, have existed for many years. In order to make optimum use of such a battery, it is very desirable to test the battery to determine various battery parameters such as state of charge, battery capacity, state of health, the existence of battery defects.
Various techniques have been used to measure battery parameters. For example, hygrometers have been used to measure the specific gravity of a battery and simple voltage measurements have been used to monitor the voltage of the battery. One battery testing technique which has been popular for many years is known as a load test in which a battery is heavily loaded over a period of time and the decay in the battery output is monitored. However, such a test is time consuming and leaves the battery in a relatively discharged condition. Further, such a tester must be made relatively large if it is to be used with large batteries.
A much more elegant technique has been pioneered by Midtronics, Inc. of Burr Ridge, Illinois and Dr. Keith S. Champlin in which battery parameters are determined based upon a measurement of the battery""s conductance. This work is set forth in, for example, the following patents issued to Champlin: U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,911; U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,708; U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,768; U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,170; U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,038; U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,416; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,269; U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,380; U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,136; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,728 and the following patents assigned to Midtronics, Inc., U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,355 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,093.
However, there is an ongoing need to refine battery testing techniques, improve their accuracy and improve the types of applications in which they may be successfully employed.
A microprocessor couples to a voltage sensor through an analog to digital converter. The voltage sensor is adapted to be coupled across terminals of a battery. A small current source is also provided and adapted to be coupled across the terminal to the battery. The current source is momentarily switched on to provide a current (which may be a current drop) through the battery and the resulting change in voltage is monitored using the microprocessor. The microprocessor calculates battery conductance based upon the magnitude of the current and the change in voltage. These techniques are employed to overcome noise from noise sources which may be coupled to the battery during the battery test.